Pre-Conference Mill Tour
For Registered Delegates Only
Wed. Mar. 25, 2009 - 8am – 4pm
Vaagen Brothers Lumber, Inc., Colville, WA
Avista’s Kettle Falls Generating Station , Kettle Falls, WA
- Transportation provided
- Pre-registration required
- $75 per person – lunch included
Vaagen Bros. Lumber, Inc.
is a producer of quality wood products from small logs generated from thinning and good forest management. The Colville facility uses a HewSaw R200 as its only primary breakdown machine that produces 2x4 to 2x8 in 6 to 20 foot lengths. It features a state-of-the-art high speed planer line that includes a Finscan auto grading system that operates without human grading. The site also includes a biomass fired, 4 mega-watt co-generation power plant. Vaagen Bros. Lumber, Inc. also produces a high volume of wood chips used in the production of market pulp and paper products. The annual capacity of the mill is 135 million board feet.
The Kettle Falls Generating Station
which is celebrating 25 years of operations in 2008-2009, was the first power plant built for the sole purpose of generating electricity through wood waste in the United States. Included in the tour will be aspects of the plant operations, including the fuel transportation/conveyor system and close-up views of the seven-story furnace/boiler which heats water pipes, creating steam to run a turbine and generator that produces electricity.
